The present invention relates to coronary revascularization and in particular to methods and apparatus for harvesting sections of vascular vessels, such as saphenous veins.
For certain surgical procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), a section of a vascular vessel such as a saphenous vein in a patient's leg is harvested and attached elsewhere to form a bypass between an arterial blood source and a coronary artery that is to be bypassed.
In an effort to reduce trauma to the patent, less-invasive vessel harvesting techniques have been developed which involve the use of an endoscope. In particular, a small incision is made in the patient's leg to enable the endoscope and surgical instruments to be inserted. For example, it is necessary to sever and cauterize side branches of the vessel section being harvested, and then sever and cauterize the ends of that vessel section. That procedure traditionally involves the withdrawal of one instrument and the insertion of another, which intensifies the trauma to the vessel and the surrounding tissue.
It would be desirable to enable vessel harvesting procedures to be carried out in a minimally invasive manner that further reduces trauma to the patient by minimizing the number of insertions/removals of surgical instruments.